Helped by a superb individual performance by the France half-back Frédéric Michalak, Toulouse simply had too much for their visitors.

The build-up to the match was dominated by the Cardiff Blues back Gareth Thomas's decision to come out in public – the discreet applause that rang around the stadium on his introduction will live long in the memory of those who were there to see another of sport's taboos being addressed. That he touched the ball no more than a couple of times was not the point. Thomas spent two years in the heartland of French rugby, playing for the Toulouse faithful. Despite becoming a firm fans' favourite, it was clear that by the end of his stay he had become quite unhappy. Whatever the reasons for his departure in 2007, though, yesterday's news was greeted with no more than a hint of a Gallic shrug from the local supporters.

Thomas's current coach, Dai Young, was blunt about it. "It's not a big deal. It's 2009," he said. "Why are we making a big deal of it? It's irrelevant. From our point of view, we are 100% behind Gareth. We are totally supportive of him. He's a top man and whatever he does in his private life is just that – it's his private life."

Thomas could do little for the Blues when he finally came on to the field, with only eight minutes to play. His team had been comprehensively beaten, if the scoreboard did not quite suggest it.

"Two yellow cards were always going to be a factor, fatigue as well," said Young, before putting his finger on the key reason for his team's defeat. "The [Toulouse] bench was another factor really and when Toulouse get their noses in front they know how to kill the game. They know how to keep the scoreboard ticking over, which I thought they did really well."

That the scoreboard read only 8-7 to the home side at half-time will be of little consolation to Young but the Blues could even have gone in ahead if Ben Blair, their former All Black full-back, had managed to kick a penalty opportunity just before the break.

Toulouse, spurred on by the adventurous counter-attacking of the recalled Clément Poitrenaud at full-back, looked an altogether different side from the limp, conservative one who had sought only a precious losing bonus point in Wales the previous weekend.

Defence had been a byword for these teams in recent games and for the first half-hour the Welsh side held out before the flanker Thierry Dusautoir scored the game's first try, from close range after a Michalak burst.

That seemed to trigger something in the Blues and, following an excellent break by their fly-half, Sam Norton- Knight, the Tongan prop Taufa'ao Filise thundered through a tackle from Vincent Clerc to score under the posts.

After the break, however, the Toulouse pack took control and, with four more Michalak penalties, Guy Noves' side ran out easy winners. "Our team worked hard during the week and learned the lessons of last weekend," said Noves. "Our scrum was better, as was the lineout, and I think the way we recycled the ball was helped by good work from the 9-10 axis. That's it. I congratulate all the team."